Pla duk foo

Method

1. 1 Steam the catfish for 15 minutes, then remove the flesh and discard all the bones.
2. 2 Tear the fish meat into very fine strands, then spread them out on a tray and air dry for 20 minutes.
3. 3 The fish meat must be completely dry to become fluffy; if it's still damp, it will just clump together in the oil.
4. 4 Sprinkle the fish strips into 180-degree hot oil in thin layers until they puff up and become fluffy.
5. 5 Remove the entire chunk of fish and place it on absorbent paper without pressing it down.
6. 6 Mix tamarind juice with fish sauce, palm sugar, and chili peppers, then pour it over the fish fillet along with shredded mango.

With an appliance

• Air fryer 43 min

  Replace steps 4 and 5: spray very fine oil onto the dried fish strips, spread them in layers on perforated parchment paper and fry at 200 degrees for 7 minutes, stirring gently at the 4th minute; step 6 still includes drizzling the tamarind mango sauce when serving.